Adapter

ABSTRACT

An adapter designed to enable a battery, whose shape and dimensions are non-standard, to be housed in an electric appliance such as a model, toy, or portable electric appliance, which has a battery compartment designed to house a standard battery such as type U1, U2 or U3.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 467,305 filed May 6, 1974 nowU.S. Pat. No. 3,998,516.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to an adapter, and more particularly toan adapter designed to enable a battery whose shape and dimesnions arenon-standard, to be housed in an electric appliance which has a batterycompartment designed to house a standard battery such as type U1, U2 orU3.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Vigorous development is now under way in nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd)batteries. Particularly, Ni-Cd batteries with valves to release gasproduced during overcharging are very convenient when used in variousappliances because of low internal voltage drop due low internalresistance, rapid charging (about 5 to 15 minutes), and dischargeabilityto the extent that the terminal voltage drops approach zero.

However, Ni-Cd batteries of this type are characterized by small size,large current capacity and rapid charging, and usually have differentshape and dimensions from standard batteries such as the U1, U2 and U3types.

However, it would not be desirable to modify only for this reason, thebattery compartment of an electric appliance which was originallydesigned to house standard batteries. This might lead to substantialchanges in the design of the electric appliance in some cases.Therefore, it is desirable to enable non-standard batteries to be housedin battery compartments designed for batteries of standard shape anddimensions by adding an adapter terminal to the aforementionednon-standard batteries. Meanwhile, in view of the fact that electricappliances which can house non-standard batteries such as theaforementioned Ni-Cd batteries and chargers for such batteries have beensuccessfully developed, it would not be desirable to parmanently containsuch batteries in a dummy container of standard shape and dimensions.

It is sometimes desired to use or change the Ni-Cd batteries outside ofa dummy container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an adapter to enablebatteries with non-standard dimensions to be housed in a batterycompartment designed for standard batteries.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an adapterdesigned to make it possible to easily remove a battery housed therein.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an adapterwhich has resilient supporting members to make it easy to remove abattery therefrom by means of the force of the supporting membersapplied to the battery shoulder.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an adapterdesigned to hold a battery utilizing ribs of a resilient material.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an adapterdesigned to hold a battery utilizing a tongue.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an adapterdesigned to hold a battery by means of a hollow cylindrical body formedwith slots.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an adapterdesigned to enable gas discharge by providing a gas vent through anadapter terminal.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide anadapter designed to facilitate gas flow by keeping an adapter terminalin contact with the electrode surface of a battery.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal view partly in section of an embodiment of thepresent invention designed to be disposed in a U3 battery compartment.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the present invention designed to bedisposed in a U1 battery compartment.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an adapter embodying the present inventionwhich is designed to have the shape and dimensions as a U1 battery.

FIG. 4 is an illustration showing a non-standard battery which is aboutto be inserted into the abovementioned adapter.

FIG. 5 is an illustration showing a battery which is about to be removedfrom the adapter.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a battery which is about to be insertedinto an adapter of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal section of a battery supported by another typeof adapter embodying the present invention.

FIG. 8A is a longitudnal section of the adapter shown in FIG. 7 andtaken along line x--x of FIG. 8c. FIG. 8B is a top view, and FIG. 8C abottom view thereof.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the adapter viewed from the bottom.

FIG. 10 is a cut-away perspective view of the adapter of FIG. 9.

FIGS. 11 and 12 are cross-sections of other types of adapters embodyingthe present invention, showing the configuration of resilient ribmembers used in the adapter.

FIG. 13A is a longitudinal section of an adapter with a battery.

FIG. 13B is a longitudinal section of the same adapter without thebattery.

FIG. 13C is a top view of the adapter shown in FIG. 13B.

FIG. 13D is a bottom view of the adapter shown in FIG. 13B.

FIG. 14 is a cut-away perspective view of a part of the adapter shown inFIG. 13B.

FIGS. 15A and 15B are perspective views of an adapter terminal.

FIG. 16 is a longitudinal section of an adapter embodying the presentinvention designed to have the same shape and dimensions as a U2battery, and

FIG. 17 is a perspective view thereof.

FIG. 18 is a longitudinal section of an adapter embodying the presentinvention designed to have the same shape and dimensions as a U3battery.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of an adapter body and an adapter terminalto be fitted therein.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the adapter shown in FIG. 18.

FIG. 21 is an illustration showing the adapter housed in a batterycompartment together with a battery.

FIGS. 22 (A and B) and FIG. 23 are illustrations showing the gasdischarging function incorporated in an adapter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Although certain types of Ni-Cd batteries mentioned above have the samediameter as a U3-type battery, they are different in length from theU3-type. Therefore, when housing a battery whose shape and dimensionsare non-standard, for example, a Ni-Cd battery 2 in a batterycompartment of housing 1 constructed to house a U3-type battery, asshown in FIG. 1, an adapter 3 is added. The adapter 3, in thisembodiment, has a conductive member or adapter terminal 6 having a rod 4and a disc 5, and a tubular insulator body 7 constructed to have thesame diameter as the battery 2. The length of the adapter terminal 6 issuch that it can adequately compensate for the insufficient length ofthe battery 2. Numerals 8 and 9 refer to connecting terminals which areconnected to a load (not illustrated) such as a motor.

In this case, the gap between the insulator body 7 and the connectingterminal 9 is designed to be large enough for a fingertip to enter sothat the battery 2 can be easily removed from the battery housing 1. Theadapter 3 and the battery 2 are constructed separately so that only thebattery 2 may be used in other electrical appliances or may be chargedwith a battery charger.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, two adapters 3 which have the sameshape and dimensions as a U1-type battery are axially housed in seriesin the battery housing 1. As described above, a gap large enough for afingertip to be inserted is provided between the two adapters 3 for easyremoval.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 through 6, numerals 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6correspond to like numberals in FIG. 1 and as more clearly shown inFIGS. 4 and 6, a resilient retaining sleeve 10 has a cylinder portionthereof integral with the annular portion 14, the lower end portion ofthe retaining sleeve 10 having several axial slots indicated at 12 toprovide elasticity. The lower portion mentioned above has a shoulderportion 13 which serves as a stopper for the disc 5 of the adapterterminal 6, and an inner ridge 11 which elastically retains the battery2 and at the same time serves as a stopper for the disc 5. The retainingsleeve 10 is inserted into the tubular body 15, with the lower end ofthe sleeve 10 being fitted to the lower end of the body 15. Thedepression 16 is formed in an end plate (no numeral) of the body 15, theend plate being formed with a coaxial hole of substantially the samediameter as the rod 4. In housing the battery 2, the sleeve 10 is firstinserted into the body 15 and then the adapter terminal 6 is introducedas shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Then the battery 2 is forced into theretaining sleeve 10 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6. In this case, the outerdiameter of the battery 2 is slightly larger than the inner diameter ofthe ridge 11 of the retaining sleeve 10, so that the ridge 11 is pushedoutwardly by the battery 2, and thereby elastically retains the battery2, as clearly shown in FIG. 3. When the battery 2 is forced fully intothe retaining sleeve 10, the disc 5 of the adapter terminal 6 abutsagainst the shoulder 13 of the retaining sleeve 10, as shown in FIG. 3.The distance between the tip of the adapter terminal 6 and the bottom ofthe battery 2 is designed to be equal to the length of a U1-typebattery, for instance, and the rod 4 of the adapter terminal 6 protrudesapproximately 1 centimeter beyond the body 15. The length of the rod 4is equal to the difference between the length of the battery 2 and astandard U-1 battery.

In this embodiment, moreover, the disc 5 of the adapter terminal 6 isflat and as large in diameter as the battery 2. Therefore, when thebattery 2 is inserted with the right polarity, the disc 5 electicallycontacts the positive terminal of the battery 2, as shown in FIG. 3.However, when the battery 2 is accidentally inserted with the wrongpolarity, the disc 5 is designed not to electrically contact thenegative terminal of the battery 2 because they are separated by theinsulator casing (no numeral) which covers the outer surface of thebattery 2 and is folded at its end over the bottom of the battery 2.

When the adapter 3 housing the battery 2 as shown in FIG. 3 is placed inthe battery housing 1 as shown in FIG. 2, the gap between the twoadapters 3 is large enough for a finger to enter since the rod 4 of theadapter terminal 6 protrudes by approximately 1 centimeter. This makesit possible to remove the adapter 3 from the battery housing 1 with afingertip engaging the depression 16 provided on top of the dummycontainer 15. The battery 2 itself can be removed from body 15 bypushing the top of the adapter terminal 6. By doing so, the disc 5 ofthe adapter terminal 6 pushes the battery 2 out of the retaining sleeve10. At the point where a shoulder portion (no numeral) of the battery 2passes over the ridge 11 as shown in FIG. 5, the retaining sleeve 10quickly pushes on the shoulder portion of the battery 2 while returiningto its original free state, and thereby pops the battery 2 out of thedummy container 15.

As described above, the present invention enables batteries whose shapeand dimensions are non-standard to be housed in a battery housingconstructed in accordance with the shape and dimensions specified forprevailing battery standards. Consequently, Ni-Cd batteries havingcapabilities such as large current capacity and rapid charging can beeasily used without design changes in existing electric appliancesconstructed in accordance with the prevailing standards. In addition,since such a non-standard battery can be easily removed from theadapter, not only it can be used in any electric appliance having abattery housing designed for the shape and dimensions of thenon-standard battery, but also it can be recharged with any chargerdesigned to accept the non-standard battery without any design change.

Next, an embodiment of an adapter formed in one piece will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 7-12.

In these figures, the numeral 17 refers to a battery to be inserted, andthe numeral 18 to an adapter body to compensate for the substandardouter diametr of the battery 17. The adapter body 18 is constructed inthe form of a tube, and has an opening 19 through an end 21. The opening19 is formed to be equal to or larger than the outer diameter of thebattery 17, and is designed so that the battery 17 protrudes from thetop of the body 18 when the battery 17 is inserted. Axially disposed ribmembers 20 are provided which extend inwardly from the inside wall ofthe body 18 to contact, for example, tangentailly the circumference ofthe battery 17, and are constructed in such a way that the diameter of acircle inscribed within the rib members 20 is slightly smaller than theouter diameter of the battery 17.

One end of the rib members 20 is formed integrally with the end 21 ofthe body 18 to facilitate molding. In order to enable elasticdeformation of the rib members 20 in such a configuration, notches 22are provided in the rib members 20 near the end 21. When the battery 17is inserted into the adapter body 18 of the abovementioned constuction,as shown in FIG. 7, the rib members 20 ar expanded outwardly by thecircumference of the battery 17 to elastically or resiliently retain thebattery 17. The battery 17 protrudes through the opening 19 of the body18. Thus, the body 18 and the battery 17 are housed properly into thebattery housing (not illustrated) of an electric appliance, which isdesigned to house a U2-type battery.

In this case, the length of the combination is represented by the lengthof the battery 17 itself, and the outer diameter is that of the adapterbody 18.

The body 18 of the aforementioned construction is designed to be moldedin a single operation using a suitable material such as a plastic. Theadapter is injection molded utilizing a male mold with an external shapecorresponding to the inside configuration of the body 18 and a femalemold with an internal shape corresponding to the external shape of thebody 18. In this case, the aforementioned male mold has a cylindricalshape corresponding to the inner diameter of the tubular body 18. Slotscorresponding to the abovementioned rib members 20 are provided throughthe cylindrical shape. The slots are provided all the way through thecylindrical shape without any provisions for notches in the rib members20. On the other hand, the female mold has a cylindrical cavitycorresponding to the extenal shape of the body 18, and, at the bottom ofthe cavity, a table-like protrusion corresponding to the abovementionedopening 19, and stripshaped protrusions, corresponding to notches 22, onthe table-like protrusions.

In other words, in this adapter of the present invention, considerationis given to enable the notches 22 in the aforementioned rib members 20to be molded in a single molding operation in which the opening 19 isformed not in the form of a full circle, but as square cuts 23 on partof its arc, as clearly illustrated in FIG. 8B. Thus, the notches 22 canbe molded from the side opening 19 using the cuts 23. Although the cuts23 in the figure have a triangular edge shape, it is needless to saythat the shape of the cuts 23 is determined by the relation between thedepth t of the notches 22 in the rib members 20 and the diameter d ofthe opening 19.

FIG. 11 is a bottom view of another embodiment of the prsent inventionwhose numerals correspond to like numerals in FIG. 8. In this figure,rib membes 20 have concave curvature portions 24, which elasticallyretain the battery 17. In this case again, it is needless to say thatthe notches 22 as shown in FIGS. 7 through 10 are molded from the sideopening 19 . Finally, as shown in FIG. 12, in which the numerals 18, 19,20, 21 and 24 correspond to those in FIG. 11 spacer members 25 areprovided extending from the inside wall of the body 18 toward thecenter, which serve as spacers to support the battery 17 at the center.The battery 17 is coaxially aligned with the center axis by means of thespacer members 25, and is elastically supported by the rib members 20having the concave curvature portions 24.

As described above, an adapter as that of this embodiment canelastically retain the battery 17 with the rib members 20 simply byproviding the rib members 20 extending from the inside wall tubular body18. The adapter also has an advantage that it can be molded in a singlemolding operation. Another advantage is that it is sufficient only tomake up for insufficient battery diameter, without provisions tocompensate for length by such means as an adapter terminal.

FIGS. 13 through 15 show another embodiment of the present inventionwhich is designed to enable the non-standard battery shown in FIG. 7 tobe housed in a U1-type battery housing.

In these figures, the numeral 26 refers to a tubular adapter body. Anopening 29 through which a rod 28 of an adapter terminal 27 is slidableis provided through an end plate of the adapter (no numeral). The body26 has rib members 30, which extend from the inside wall of the body 26toward the center to position a battery 31 coaxially in the body 26.

Slots 32 are provided, and tongue-shaped members 33 extend from the endplate from the opening 29 of the body 26. Engaging members 34 are formedon the tongue-shaped members 33, when necessary, and raised portions areformed on the inside of the engaging members 34 to grasp a groove 35 inthe shoulder of the battery 31 inserted into the body 26.

As clearly shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, an adapter terminal 27 to beinserted through the opening 29 consists of an insulator member having atube portion 28 and disc portion 36, and an eyelet-like hollow conductormember 37 formed by drawing process, for example. When the adapterterminal 27 is inserted into the body 26, the disc portion 36 contactsthe inner end face of the end plate, and the positive terminal of thebattery 32 electrically contacts the hollow conductor member 37, the rodportion 28 protruding from the end plate of the body 26, as shown inFIG. 13A. In the embodiment shown, the distance between the tip of theadapter terminal 27 and the bottom surface of the battery 31 is equal tothe lngth of a U1-type battery. The outer diameter of the body 26 is, ofcourse, equal to the outer diameter of a U1-type battery. In the case ofthe embodiment shown, the battery 31 is elastically retained by theengaging members 34 of the tongue-shaped members 33, as shown in FIG.13A, because the length of the body 26 is almost equal to the length ofthe battery 31. When the battery 31 is inserted into the body 26, theengaging members 34 of the tongue-shaped members 33 are expanded by theshoulder of the battery 31, and the tongue-shaped members 33 elasticallyretain the battery 31 because the tongue-shaped members 33 which areseparated from the adjacent end face by the slots 32, are elasticallydeformed.

When removing the battery 31 from the body 26, the tip of the adapterterminal 27 is pushed downwardly, and the disc portion 36 depresses thepositive terminal of the battery 31. When the raised portions of theengaging members 34 are about to be separated from the shoulder of thebattery after being detached from the groove 35 of the battery 31, thebattery 31 pops out because the engaging members 34 quickly tend toelastically return to their original free state. In this embodiment, theelastic retension of the battery 31 is fully effected by separating thetongue-shaped members 33 from the adjacent end plate by the slots 32.However, when the engaging members 34 alone can provide adequateelasticity, it would be sufficient to have the engaging members aloneextend from the inside of the end plate.

As described above, when the length of the battery 31 to be inserted isrelatively close to the desired standard size such as that of a U1-typebattery, as in the case of this embodiment, the rod portion 28 of theadapter terminal 27 becomes necessarily short, and therefore the elasticretaining portions for the battery 31 are near the end plate of the body26. For this reason, both the tongue-shaped members 33 formed on the endplate and the engaging members 34, when necessary, constitute theelastic retaining portions.

This makes it possible to pop the battery 31 out of the body 26 by aslight movement of the adapter terminal 27, and to construct the body 26in one piece through an easy molding process.

In the abovementioned embodiment, the adapter terminal 27 is providedbecause the length of the battery 31 is slightly smaller than thedesired standard size such as that of a U1-type battery, for example.However, when constructing an adapter to be housed in a U2-type batteryhousing, an adapter terminal 27 is not necessary because the length ofthe battery 31 shown in the figures is the same as that of a U2-typebattery.

In such a case, the construction of the embodiment shown in the figurescan be changed as follows:

1. the length of the body 26 is made smaller than that of the battery31.

2. the inner diameter of the opening 29 of the body 26 is made equal toor larger than the outer diameter of the battery 31.

3. the battery 31 is made to protrude from the body 26 through theopening 29.

4. the tongue-shaped members 33 and the engaging members 34, whennecessary, are made to retain elastically the circumference of thebattery 31.

5. When removing the battery 31, the battery 31 depress to a positionwhere the shoulder of the battery 31 is detached from the raisedportions of the engaging members 34 to be popped out using the elasticreturn of the engaging members 34.

FIGS. 16 and 17 show an embodiment which is designed to enable thenon-standard battery shown in FIG. 3 to be housed in U2-type batteryhousing. FIG. 16 shows a longitudinal section of an adapter of thisembodiment, and FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the same adapter. Inthe figures, the numeral 38 refers to a tubular adapter body. As in thecase of the aforementioned embodiment, an opening 41 through which a rodportion 40 of an adapter terminal 39 extends is provided through the endplate of the body 38.

Axial slots 42 are provided through the wall of the body 38, leaving anannular portion 43 of the bottom portion of the body 38. An annularbattery retaining ridge 44 is provided on the inside wall of the body38, and as shown in FIG. 16, when a battery 45 is inserted into the body38, the annular ridge is pushed outwardly by the circumference of thebttery 45, and thus the battery 45 is elastically retained by means ofthe ridge 44 and the annular portion 43 at the bottom.

Inside the body 38, a stopper 46 is provided to stop the adapter teminal39 at a selected position. When the battery 45 is properly inserted intothe body 38, a disc portion 47 of the adapter terminal 39 is stopped atthe selected position by the stopper 46 to ensure electric contact withthe positive terminal of the battery 45. As shown in FIG. 16, when thebattery 45 is inserted into the body 38, the distance between the bottomsurface of the battery 45 and the tip of the adapter terminal 39 isequal to the length of, for example, a U2-type battery, and the diameterof the body 38 is also designed to be equal to the diameter of a U2-typebattery.

Also as shown in FIG. 16, the body 38 into which a non-standard batteryis inserted can be housed in a U2-type battery housing just like astandard U2-type battery. As for a Ni-Cd battery having a gas releasevalve, the rod portion 40 of the adapter terminal 39 is hollow, andthrough the tip thereof gas vents 49 are provided to prevent a gasrelease hole 48 at the positive terminal of the battery from beingclosed by the adapter terminal 39. The operation of removing the battery45 from the body 38 is similar to that of the other embodiments as shownin FIGS. 3 and 13. As in the case of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 7and 13, the adapter can be molded in one molding operation from aplastic material. In this case, protrusions corresponding to theabovementioned slots 42 are provided on the inside wall of the femalemold, and these protrusions are designed to contact the outer surface ofthe male mold during the molding operation. Grooves 50 extending to theslots 42 are provided on the body 38 so that the body 38 can beextracted from the female mold despite the protrusions on the insidewall of the female mold. An annular recess is provided in the male moldto mold the ridge 44 on the inside wall of the body 38. Consequently,when the male and female molds are separated after thermosetting, themolded body 38 is extracted together with the male mold. Then, the body38 can be extracted from the male mold because the ridge 44 isdisengaged from the recess in the male mold due to elastic deformationof the body 38.

As described above, the body 38 of this embodiment can be formed in asingle molding operation, and has only two components, mainly the body38 and the adapter terminal 39. Moreover, the slots 42 provided throughthe body 38 have the function of providing elasticity for the tubularportion of the body 38 as well as the function of cooling the insertedbattery 45. The body 38 has an advantage in that the battery 45 can beeasily inserted into and removed from the body 38.

Next, an embodiment with a gas releasing provision to be used with aNi-Cd battery having a gas release valve will be described, referring toFIGS. 18 to 23.

Since the adapter terminals used in the aforementioned embodiments aresupposed to be formed hollow by a drawing process in view of materialconservation, it is desired, when used with a Ni-Cd battery having a gasrelease valve, to make a provision for discharging hydrogen gas releasedfrom the battery through the hollow portion of the adapter terminal.

In these figures (18-23) the numeral 51 refers to an adapter body, andthe numeral 52 to an adapter terminal. The adapter terminal 52 iscomposed of a hollow rod portion 53 and a disc portion 55 with anopening 54 through its center. The edge 56 of the disc portion 55resiliently engages in a circumferential groove 58 in the body 51. Gasvents 57 are provided through the tip of the hollow rod portion 53. Thebody 51 is constructed of an insulator material in the shown embodiment.The end plate (no numeral) of the body 51 has an opening 59 throughwhich the hollow rod portion 53 of the adapter terminal 52 extends. Arecessed portion 60 is provided around the opening 59 so that the body51 can be easily removed with a fingertip.

Moreover, in the end surface of the disc portion 55 of the adapterterminal 52, radial grooves 61 are provided, to facilitate air flowthrough the hollow rod portion 53 and gas vents 57 when a battery 63 isinserted into a battery housing 62 together with the adapter body 51 asshown in FIG. 21. By doing so, hydrogen gas released from the battery 63escapes through the gas vents 57.

An adapter of this type has two components; the body 51 formed bymolding from plastic and the adapter terminal 52 formed hollow bydrawing, which are assembled simply by engaging the edge 56 with thegroove 58. As clearly shown in FIG. 21, an adapter body 51 of thisconstruction is inserted into the battery housing 62 having electricalconnecting terminals 64 and 65, together with the battery 63. Theembodiment represents the adapter body 51 and the battery 63 insertedinto the battery housing 62 for a U3-type battery. The diameter andlength of the Ni-Cd batteries mentioned above vary with their capacity.However, the battery 63 which is equivalent to conventional U3-typebattery and is almost the same in diameter as a U3-type and is differentonly in length. Consequently, it is sufficient to add the adapter ofthis embodiment to the battery 63 as shown in FIG. 21. Thus, Ni-Cdbatteries can be used satisfactorily in any electrical appliancesdesigned for conventional U3-type dry batteries without design changes.The adapter terminal 52 used in an adapter of this type is, as statedusually formed hollow by a drawing process in view of materialconservation. However, there is a possibility that hydrogen gas producedduring overcharging might accumulate in the abovementioned hollowportion and mix with oxygen in the air, and in some cases, be explodedby a tiny spark. This danger can be eliminated in this embodimentbecause the gas vents 61 facilitate gas circulation. FIGS. 22A and 22Bshow the relationship between the adapter terminal gas vents 57 providedthrough the tip of the adapter terminal 52 and the gas releasing vent 67of a Ni-Cd battery. In this case, the tip of the adapter terminal 52 isfinished semispherically as shown to prevent the gas vents 57 from beingclosed by foreign matter such as an external connecting terminal.

By terminating semispherically, the tip of the adapter terminal 52 cansmoothly slide on a connecting terminal whereby the adapter can beeasily inserted in a battery housing.

As shown in FIG. 23, the gas vents 57 have a ventilating effect as shownby arrows in the figure, which gives the adapter a cooling effect on thebattery 63 as well as the gas dispersion effect.

Numerous changes may be made in the above described adapters, anddifferent embodiments of the present invention may be made withoutdeparting from the scope thereof. Thereof, it is intended that allmatter contained in the foregoing description and in the accompanyingdrawings be intepreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. An adapter to enable a non-standard sized batteryto be operatively placed in a battery compartment designed to house astandard sized battery which is larger than the non-standard sizebattery, said adapter comprising an elongated, molded plastic tubularbody having a transverse wall integral with one end thereof and with anopening through said end wall, said tubular body having a shorter axiallength than a non-standard sized battery whereby the non-standard sizedbattery extends outwardly of said tubular member when the non-standardsized battery is contained within said adapter, said tubular bodyfurther including a plurality of inwardly directed and axially extendingresilient ribs formed integrally with said transverse end wall and theinside surface of said tubular body for releasably holding a portion ofthe non-standard sized battery contained within said adapter, each ofsaid ribs including a notch extending axially from the inner surface ofsaid transverse end wall and along at least a portion of the inwardlydirected edge of said ribs, the opening in said transverse end wallincluding a plurality of cuts therein that correspond to the shape anddepth of each said notch in each said rib whereby the unnotched portionof each said rib contacts and resiliently retains the non-standard sizedbattery and whereby said adapter is capable of being manufactured by amolding process in a single operation utilizing cooperating male andfemale molds.
 2. The adapter according to claim 1 wherein said ribsextend generally chordally inwardly from the inside wall of said tubularbody and wherein said ribs have a free end that is spaced from theinside surface of said tubular body.